


Can I Have This Dance?

by Fangirlshrewt97



Series: Nile Freeman's Guide to Down Time with Immortal Warriors [8]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: And Nile gets enthralled by street tango dancers, Attempt at Humor, Bonding, Brother-Sister Relationships, Dancing, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Tango, Teaching, Team as Family, Teasing, They are in Argentina, Vacation, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlshrewt97/pseuds/Fangirlshrewt97
Summary: “Have you never seen a tango before Nile?” Nicky asked, though his tone was kind. Nicky was not capable of true mockery. Teasing, sure, but it was also always kind.Nile shrugged. “I grew up in Chicago. Saw plenty of hip hop and swing, but not a lot of ballroom. Definitely nothing like that.” she said, waving to the pair who were drinking some water and chatting with an employee of the nearby restaurant.Joe hummed. “Nothing quite like seeing the Argentine Tango in Argentina.”Nicky gently guided her away from the alley with two fingers to her elbow. “This way Nile.”///Basically, Nile comes across street dancers in Argentina doing the Tango and gets curious, and Joe and Nicky indulge her.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nile Freeman & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolo di Genova
Series: Nile Freeman's Guide to Down Time with Immortal Warriors [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851712
Comments: 28
Kudos: 190





	Can I Have This Dance?

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Reader,
> 
> Life got busy as I had to make my way back to college, and had to get ready to come back, hence the time between updates. I really enjoyed this story, and I hope you all do too.   
> Reading your comments fuels me to write like nothing else can, and I have several stories planned. If you have any other ideas for ways the teams can bond (any dynamics work, but I am going be keeping Nile single/ the series won't contain any smut), please let me know in the comments!  
> As usual, these stories can all be read as stand alone or as part of the series.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please let me know with kudos/comments (which can include keyboard smashes, one word comments, or favorite lines!)
> 
> The story is not beta'd, so all errors are my own.
> 
> Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, I am just borrowing them temporarily. Any similarities to real life are entirely coincidental!
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Fangirlshrewt97

Nile collapsed on the ratty couch once they cleared the safe house, exhaustion leaving her practically dead on her feet. She was only aware of closing her eyes for a second, seeing the sunset paint the walls of the house in shades of orange, before she was being gently nudged awake.

When she blearily opens her eyes, they met the sea-green of Nicky’s eyes, full of fondness, with a small amused smile on his face.

“Buonasera Nile,” he said, “The bedroom down the hall has fresh sheets. Go sleep inside.”

“What time‘s it? Nile asked, lifting herself up to her elbows and rubbing at her eyes. She gasps when she sees the sky outside is dark.

“Around 8.”

“I slept for two hours? Why didn’t you wake me?” Nile exclaimed, pushing herself to sit up straight as Nicky leaned back to sit on his haunches on the ground.

“You looked tired.”

“Still Nicky, there was work to be done.” Nile complained. Her mother had raised her to never sit idle in another person’s house when there was work to be done.

“Nothing Joe and I couldn’t handle. Next time we get a break after a mission where we die thrice, we will let you allow us to sleep through a day, alright?” Nicky said, eyes twinkling. He laughed when Nile have a half-hearted shove to his shoulder.

“Bastard.”

“So, sleep?” Nicky asked, pressing his hands into his thighs before leveraging himself into standing up. “Or dinner?”

Nile started to answer, only for her stomach to let out a long rumble, making her blush faintly. Nicky, being the kind soul he was, did not laugh, merely extending his hand to her with mirth in his eyes.

“Come. Joe made dinner today.”

Nile let herself be led into the modest kitchen, the smells making her mouth water.

“Joe, that smells fucking delicious.” she said as she sat at one of the barstools.

Joe sent her a wink. “She’s awake! Thank you for the compliment habibti, I hope it tastes as good too. It has been several years since I last tried to do provoleta, but being in Argentina, I couldn’t not do it.”

“Provoleta? What’s that?” Nile asked, though she guessed it was cheese from the smell alone. Few things had such a recognizable scent.

“The superior grilled cheese.” Nicky answer before Joe could, going to stand behind him and poking at the pan on the stove, only to be slapped off by Joe.

“Grilled cheese?”

Joe nodded. “Argentina has a lot of Italian immigrants, so this dish is Italian inspired. Provoleta is made with provolone cheese and it usually grilled, but can also be done on a cast iron pan.”

“Well it smells delicious.” Nile declared.

“Five minutes habibti.” Joe told her.

Nile nodded and looked around the room. Their latest mission had ended successfully, discounting her three unfortunate deaths, but had been high profile enough Copley had asked them to split up till things cooled down. Quynh had convinced Andy to visit the Caribbean and then dragged Booker with them. The man was doing much better since he joined the team, but they were still wary of leaving him to his own devices for big chunks of time. They’d asked Nile if she wanted to join, but Joe and Nicky had mentioned visiting South America, so she had decided to go with them instead. They had spent a day in Rio, just transiting, before flying down to Buenos Aires.

Nile had learned Spanish throughout high school, but it was nothing compared to the three months of immersion she had in the long mission they had in Spain. And yet, Argentinean Spanish was a different beast altogether. And the city itself seemed to buzz with this musical energy Nile had a difficult time categorizing. They had arrived at one of Andy’s safe houses, so the place had the bare minimum furniture to be serviceable, devoid of the art and decorations that made Joe and Nicky’s safe houses feel like homes even if only for a handful of weeks. It had last been used by Booker though, so the kitchen had had actual cooking implements, and other house comforts that would have been too much of a pain to hunt down after a full day spent in airports and airplanes.

Nile was pulled out of her thoughts when a plate was placed in front of her, the aroma instigating another loud rumble from her stomach, prompting another blush from her. Joe just laughed and handed her the cutlery.

The first bite of the dish filled her mouth with hot cheese melted to perfection that had her groaning loudly without shame. Ignoring the smirks being thrown her way, Nile quickly scarfed down her plate, washing it down with a wine Nicky had dug up from somewhere. When done, she leaned back on the rickety bar stool as much as she dared, a content smile filling her face. “I feel so heavy I don’t think I will actually be able to walk to bed Joe, that was so freaking good.”

Joe shot her a dazzling smile, “Oh habibti, thank you for the compliment. I’m glad you liked it.”

“I keep telling him he should cook more often, but he refuses.” Nicky commented where he was still slowly making his way through his own Provoleta.

“Ah, but my love, how could I bear to deny myself and the rest of our family your divine cooking? I am but mortal.” Joe said, spreading the hand not holding his fork wide.

Nicky rolled his eyes and gave him an unimpressed look, “No, you are just lazy.”

Joe threw his head back and laughed. “That too.”

Nile laughed at the pair’s antics. For all that the team was made up of immortals and did things she could still not believe at times, moments like these rooted her to the ground. Right now, they were not immortal warriors with over two millenia of lived experience between the three of them. They were just friends who had come to visit a beautiful country while on vacation, the older couple treating their young friend to new experiences.

Nile felt a familiar ache for her mother and brother, though it grew lesser with each day, which was a different ache of its own. She wished she could tell them she was alright, that she was living a life she could never have even imagined. That she had visited practically every country in the world at this point, that the world was so much bigger and more wonderful than even the travel documentaries her brother was fond of could describe. She imagined, in her more fanciful thoughts, about introducing her blood family to her immortal one.

It was an impossible dream, but it gave her some lightness in her darker nights, so she indulged in it. She was brought back to the present by a warm hand covering hers.

“Hey, you alright?” Joe asked, eyes full of growing concern.

Nile gave him a slow smile. “Yeah, just got lost in my head.”

“Good lost?” Nicky questioned.

Nile nodded. “Yeah good lost.”

Joe squeezed her hand before letting go. “Help me clean up then?”

Nile shook her head. “Cook gets a break. I’ll take care of the dishes, Nicky can show me where they go. You go watch something on TV.”

Joe pressed a kiss to her forehead when she stood up and collected both their plates. “Very kind of you Nile, but unnecessary. There aren’t any matches going on today, and I don’t feel like channel surfing. Let me help.”

Nile shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

///

After dinner the trio had spent a couple of hours in silence, Nile reading _Don Quixote_ in the original Spanish (Booker had told her it was a personal favorite), Nicky getting yarn from somewhere and continuing knitting something she couldn’t yet discern the final form of yet, and Joe scribbling away in his notebook, alternating between sketches of the two and fragments of poetry.

Nile had been the first one to call it a night and fallen asleep minutes after getting under the cover, despite the long nap she had taken a few hours prior.

The next morning, the boys had taken her to La Boca, giving her a run down of the neighborhood’s history as they passed by brightly coloured houses and walked though the Caminito Street Museum. They had taken her to a street market next, allowing her to browse the stalls for gifts for the missing three members of their family while Nicky and Joe reminisced about their last visit here. They had found a great street vendor for lunch, and eaten it as they kept walking, discarding the takeaway box and tissues once done.

Joe had bought her a chocolate and a caramel churro, asking her for her preference, only to groan when Nile chose the caramel one. Nicky put an arm around her shoulder and held his fist out to her the way she had taught him, making her chuckle as she gave him a fist bump. They continued to enjoy Joe’s dramatics over their terrible taste buds as they turned down another street.

Nile’s laughter abruptly cut off when the music that had been so faint before suddenly assaulted their ears. About 10 feet ahead of them, a man in a black suit was spinning and swinging a woman dressed in a classy black and red dress. The couple was captivating, the woman’s leg peeking out from the side slits of her dress, kicking and flicking out in rapid speed as the man led her through the dance. The couple was given a wide berth, a small crowd starting to form around them.

Nile gasped when the woman hooked a leg around her partner’s waist and another around his knee, fully depending on the arm around her waist to not fall. Her partner dipped her to the side, the woman stretching her arms as far as she could reach, barely brushing the ground before her partner pulled her back up. The music sped up again, the two moving perfect sync as they went in tight circles, kicking and flicking their feet, the woman kicking in between the man’s and then over his waist while he spun them around. The music continued to get faster until suddenly it stopped, the violin holding out a long note that allowed the dancers to catch their breaths as they pressed tight against each other. The dance ended as the woman slid down to a half split, one leg fully extended behind her as another was bent, making her nearly rest her pelvis on the ground.

When the music stopped, the man pulled his partner back up and they did a small bow, Nile enthusiastically clapping, and then cheering when the woman sent a playful wink and air kiss her way.

She turned with the huge grin still on her face only to freeze as her companions regarded her with twin expressions of fondness and amusement.

“What?” Nile asked, blushing beneath her dark skin, embarrassed at herself.

“Have you never seen a tango before Nile?” Nicky asked, though his tone was kind. Nicky was not capable of true mockery. Teasing, sure, but it was also always kind.

Nile shrugged. “I grew up in Chicago. Saw plenty of hip hop and swing, but not a lot of ballroom. Definitely nothing like that.” she said, waving to the pair who were drinking some water and chatting with an employee of the nearby restaurant.

Joe hummed. “Nothing quite like seeing the Argentine Tango in Argentina.”

Nicky gently guided her away from the alley with two fingers to her elbow. “This way Nile.”

The trio made their way back home without any other distractions. Nile let the others know she was going to catch a quick nap before she headed upstairs. She placed her shopping on top of the chair in the corner of the room before crashing on the bed.

When Nile woke up, she wiped the little bit of drool from the corner of her mouth, turning in bed and stretching like a cat. Immortality may mean you can walk away from a 15-story free fall, but you still have to contend with things like cricks in necks from sleeping awkwardly. If there was a higher being behind this whole business, Nile had several complaints she wanted to address.

After washing her face and freshening up, Nile went downstairs, finding Nicky placing something in the oven.

“Evening Nicky. What’s for dinner?”

Nile shot her a smile over his shoulder. “Buonasera Nile. How was your nap?”

“Perfect.” Nile sighed with a contended smile as she came to lean against the kitchen counter. She tilted her head towards the oven. “Dinner?”

“Lasagna.” Nicky replied with a wink, making Nile’s stomach growl in anticipation. Nicky was the second best cook Nile knew, only her mom could beat him, but when he cooked Italian food? Nile couldn’t remember ever having food so good.

“Can I help with anything?”

“I finished early today.” Nicky said, shaking his head as he wiped down the counter before moving to the sink to rinse the cloth and his hands. Once he hung it to dry and turned to her, he gave her another smile. “Come. Joe has a surprise for you.”

Nile raised her eyebrow. “A surprise?”

“You will like it.” Nicky promised as he gestured her towards the stairs.

Nile followed after him, trying to contain her surprise and curiosity as to the gift when they came to a stop before Booker’s library. As in the room dedicated to books he had in each of their safe houses.

Nicky knocked twice. “Amore, are you done? I have Nile.”

“One second Nicky!” Joe replied from inside before opening the door. The flush was high on his cheeks and his curls were sticking just a bit to his forehead, as though he had been sweating. When he caught her gaze, he gave her one of his 1000-megawatt smiles. “Nile!”

“Hey, Joe…” Nile trailed off as Nicky huffed a laugh.

“Can we come in hayati?” Nicky murmured to Joe, unable to resist running his hands over the other man’s forearms.

“Yes, yes, of course, come in!” Joe said, throwing the door wide open. Nicky gestured for Nile to go in first. A little wary and a lot curious, Nile stepped into the office. The standard bookshelves were lining the walls, but the desk and chair had been pushed to one corner of the room, along with the foot stool and lamp, leaving the other half of the room empty and free.

“Ok, what’s going on guys?” Nile said as she did a slow 360 of the room.

Joe came to stand next to Nicky, wrapping an arm around Nicky’s waist in a move that spoke to it being unconscious. That was when Nile realized he was wearing a simple black tank top that really highlighted his biceps, and comfortable looking gray sweatpants. And now that she was paying attention, Nicky was wearing a similar get up, with a blue t-shirt and black sweatpants. Both their feets were clad with simple white socks.

“We saw how …entranced you were by the dancers in that street today.” Joe said.

“Yes, and?” Nile asked.

“Enough with the build up hayati.” Nicky said, fondly shaking his head at his husband’s antics.

Joe gave Nicky a pout before turning to Nile with twinkling eyes that really should not look so cute on a grown man. “How would you like to learn to dance the Argentine tango?”

Nile felt her eyebrows shoot up her forehead. “What?”

Nicky helped her out. “We learned how to dance it many decades ago when we came here in the 1940’s. And fell in love with it. It has undergone a lot of changes, but the basics are still the same.”

“I…you’d do that for me?” Nile asked, voice more breathless than she expected. But give her a break, these guys, her brothers, were offering her a chance to learn to dance like that couple of the street? “Hell yes!”

Joe whooped as Nile’s face broke out in a radiant smile and excitement started to overtake her. “Excellent piccolina!”

Nicky moved away from Joe to the desk at the back of the room, taking out his phone and placing it on a stand Nile noticed there.

“Nile,” Joe called her, drawing her attention back. “Go sit in the chair, Nicky and I will show you the steps to a simple 8-step ok?”

Nile nodded and moved to the back, giving Nicky a smile when he patted her shoulder.

Once settled the men came to stand in front of each other. A silent conversation happened in their eyes before Joe turned to her. “I will show you the steps of the follower, and Nicky will show the lead’s ok? We will do it twice and then you can try.”

“Sounds good.”

Joe smiled and turned them so his back was facing her, and she could see how he placed his legs. “Alright, to start, stand with your feet together, toes apart, shifting your weight to the right leg.”

“Got it.”

“Good. Now, we are going to step forward with our left leg,” Joe dictated, following Nicky through the movements. “One, drag the right beside the left then shoulder width apart, two, move the left foot back, three, right leg further back , four, and cross the left leg over the right, five. Keep your toes closed.”

“Closed toes, ok.”

“Transfer your weight, step back with your right, six, move the left to the side, shoulder width, seven, and bring the right next to it, eight.”

Joe twisted in Nicky’s arms when they returned to their starting position. “Just remember to keep your back straight, and your weight towards the back of your feet.”

“Looks simple.” Nile said, a little bit of nerves slipping into her voice.

“Don’t worry Nile. Now watch Nicky, I’ll talk you through the leader’s steps too.” Joe said as he turned them so Nicky had his back to her now.

Like before, Joe dictated the same steps, Nicky copying his instructions perfectly. 

The two separated and Joe looked at Nile, extending a hand towards her. “Well, bambina? Can I have this dance?”

Nile would swear she did not blush, and the other two would be kind enough not to call her out on her blatant lie. Nile let Joe lead her to the middle of the cleared floor, breathing in sharply when he placed a hand at the small of her back and brought her close enough they were pressed tightly from shoulders to thighs.

“Everything good?” Joe asked her, voice right in her ear from how close they were.

Nile was sure her face was on fire, and did not trust herself not to squeak if she spoke, so she just nodded. Joe gripped her right hand in his left, lifting it to shoulder height.

“Let’s try this once?”

Nile nodded again.

Joe guided her through the dance slowly, “One, two, good, three, not so far back Nile, four, five, don’t cross it so much, you can trip, six, seven, and bring it back together.”

Nile had held herself tense as a bowstring throughout the whole dance, only feeling free to breathe when Joe released her, letting out a long exhale.

“Why were you nervous?” Joe asked her, tilting his head in that way that made him look like an adorably confused puppy.

“It can be very difficult to dance with you amore, that’s all.” Nicky called from the back of the room, shooting Nile a wink that had her blushing even harder, and hiding her face in her hands with a groan. “It is a very…intimate dance, and you a very handsome man.”

“Nicky, stop, please…” Nile begged, making the man laugh. When she peeked through her fingers, she saw Joe have his epiphany and briefly begged the earth to open up and swallow her.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of Nile. No one knows my husband’s charms better than me.” Nicky said as he ambled his way to Joe, pulling him by the waist until they were pressed chest to chest. He pulled Joe down and pressed a chaste but firm kiss to Joe’s lips that had the older man looking dazed when his husband pushed him towards the back of the room.

“Kill me now.” Nile said deadpan.

“No need for such measures,” Nicky assured her as he held out his hands. “Want to try this with me?”

Nile had not known it was possible for her to blush harder, but apparently she could as she released another groan into her hands and mumbled something.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“What makes you think I won’t have the same issue with you?” Nile repeated a little louder, eyes still firmly fixed on the ground.

Nicky blinked at her before pressing his lips together to stop from laughing. Embarrassing Nile was the last thing he wanted.

“We will try anyways. Please?” Nicky asked, and god she was a strong woman, but those sea-green eyes were too powerful for her. Exhaling hard, she let Nicky pull her into the same pose as Joe had.

It was both easier and harder to dance with Nicky, easier in that the steps were coming more smoothly, but hard in that she could feel Joe’s gaze boring holes into the back of her head.

“Better?” Nicky asked her when they finished.

Nile nodded. “Yes.”

Nicky gave her one of his rare full smiles, making her heart skip a beat. Lord have mercy, these two nine hundred year old grandpas were going to give her a heart attack. How embarrassing.

Suddenly, music started to flow through the room, making Nile turn to Joe, who was standing with Nicky’s phone in hand.

“Want to try to do a full dance Nile?”

Nile swallowed but nodded, receiving twin smiles that definitely made her heart skip a beat. Again. She was absolutely going to drop dead because of these idiots. And Andy would never let her live it down.

Nicky and Joe switched places, and as Nicky played the music, Joe led her through the dance, the same eight steps over and over. As the song progressed, he gave her small modifications to follow in her ear, and by the time the music ended, Nile was grinning ear to ear.

“Yeah, definitely never done anything like that in Chicago.” she mused aloud as she stepped back from Joe.

“But you had fun?”

Nile nodded so hard, she was sure she gave herself whiplash.

Joe clapped his hands twice. “Good. Now, want to try a few more complicated steps?”

And as she looked at her two immortal brothers-in-arms, and brothers-in-heart, she couldn’t think of a single reason to say no.

“Lead the way Joe.”

**Author's Note:**

> Provoleta - In Argentina, a thick slice of provoleta, a provolone-type cheese, is cooked over coals until browned and bubbling, then served as a mouthwatering appetizer with bread. It’s a bit like fondue or queso fundido but not quite as molten and melty. Typically, a large meal, or asado, of grilled sweetbreads, sausages and various cuts of beef follows, but provoleta makes a great snack with drinks, regardless of what you serve afterward. For ease of preparation, provoleta can be cooked in a cast-iron pan, under the broiler or baked in a hot oven. 
> 
> La Boca - La Boca is a working-class area with a cluster of attractions near the Riachuelo River. Steakhouses and street artists surround Caminito, a narrow alley flanked by brightly painted zinc shacks that evoke the district’s early immigrant days. 
> 
> The Caminito Street Museum - Located in La boca, the Caminito (little path, in Spanish) is a street museum of colourful painted houses typical of the immigrant dwellings that came to chracterise this portside area towards the end of the 19th and start of the 20th century. Today, there are several works by Argentine artists incorporated as part of the street museum and the Caminito has become a favourite with visitors to the city. Several restaurants offer tango and folk dance shows and street fills with artists offering original crafts and paintings.
> 
> Argentine Tango Street Dancers - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCKzyUfvNiM
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this entry, and if you did, please let me know, reading your comments makes me so happy!  
> And finally, if you want to come chat, you can find me at fangirlshrewt97.tumblr.com!


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